


Avatar: Forgotten Legacies

by WhereTheDeadOnesDance



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-02-21
Updated: 2013-02-21
Packaged: 2017-12-03 03:49:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/693774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhereTheDeadOnesDance/pseuds/WhereTheDeadOnesDance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As tensions grow between the continually dwindling number of benders and societies that are predominantly non-bending, the world seems to be nearing the end of a 200-year era of peace. Save for small remnants of the old nations, the tradition of bending has become corrupted. Many bend of personal gain while others are starting to become used as government weapons. Lastly, the League of Global Republics strives to keep the Avatar out of world affairs permanently, seeing the role as obsolete. The secret Avatar, a young girl living in the Northern Water Provinces, is kept safe from the LGR and her destiny, but an act of fate will put her on the path to righting the order of the world like the many Avatars before her.</p>
<p>I, of course, do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the characters therein. HOWEVER, all characters appearing in this particular work are my own. (This work disregards any and all events occurring within Avatar: The Legend of Korra)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Avatar: Forgotten Legacies

The sky was a still and bitter indigo, but the stars did not deign to shine for the silver tundra and churning waters below. The Northern Water Provinces were but a few weeks into a half-year period of perpetual night, but life went on as smoothly as if the sun was shining as merrily as it could. In a humble village only a few hundred meters from the sea, the mechanics of tribe life were on full display. Many of the men could be seen hauling meat and other supplies around in carts or improving the integrity of the village’s numerous stone and ice structures. Women could be found browsing the furnishing shops, talking avidly amongst themselves, or looking after the children as they frolicked in the snow.

On the high bank of a glacial ridge overlooking the village, two girls peered down the slope; one with unbridled excitement and the other with nothing short of terror. Kazumi, the elder, grasped her little sister’s waist as though her life depended on it, and she was quite sure it did.

“Ready?” Keiko shouted to her older sister with astonishing glee.

“No!” Kazumi yelled into Keiko’s dark blue parka. The younger gave a playful laugh and then steadied herself. With a sweep of her hand, the snow beneath the two girls compressed into a sheet of ice and they were off.

As the arctic wind lashed with increasing ferocity about Kazumi’s face, she decided that she would never listen to Keiko again. She clutched her sister about the middle as the latter performed elegant arm motions in order to flatten the snow banks lying ahead of them.

“At least you’re making it smooth!” Kazumi shouted, eyes tearing from the velocity.

“Yeah! Now we can actually go _fast_!” Keiko replied.

“Wait, Keiko! Don’t-”

Heedless of her sister’s protest, Keiko swung her arms backwards and caused the snow to explode behind them. The girls and their ice board accelerated down the slope towards the village with such speed that even Keiko began to look shaky. The rumbling of the snow behind them grew so loud that Kazumi dared to peel away from Keiko’s back and check on the sound.

“Keiko, we need to speed up now!” Kazumi screamed.

“What? You want to go faster?” Keiko asked in joyous disbelief.

“Just get us to the village!” Kazumi urged.

“What’s the matter? What’re you-“ The younger girl glanced over her shoulder and saw what was worrying her sister. “Oh, this is bad,” she said.

As the girls raced towards village, they saw their immediate path blocked by people and merchant stalls. Several townspeople had noticed the avalanche and had assumed ready stances in a line outside the village perimeter. It was uncertain whether they noticed the girls hurtling down the slope.

“Keiko, we need to go around them!” Kazumi cried.

“I can’t!” Keiko responded, and for the first time that day, she sounded nervous. “I can barely keep us steady as it is!”

At the foot of the hill, the village waterbenders tried to discern the best course of action.

“The snow has too much momentum to stop!” yelled Jukon, captain of the watch. “Our best bet is to split it and channel it around the village! Wait for my mark!”

The avalanche continued to roar down the side of the glacier, now close enough to make the ground shake. Just then, Jukon spotted a swift shape zip up and over the nearest snow bank.

“Don’t tell me-“ Jukon studied the racing figure and, sure enough, Kazumi and Keiko were leading the snowslide. “Oh, not again!”

“What is it, captain?” one of the watchmen asked.

“Them,” Jukon spat as he pointed out the troublemaking twosome. “Clear a path, now!”

The waterbenders turned inward and raised two walls of snow, creating an unobstructed alley for the runaway sisters. Keiko shifted the snow beneath the ice to carry Kazumi and herself towards the passage. At long last, they reached the bottom of the slope and flew past the watchmen into the alley.

“Sorry!” Kazumi shouted to the watch as she and Keiko rocketed through the village, narrowly avoiding the huts and stalls. In seconds, they reached the edge of the ice.

“Hold on!” yelled Keiko as the girls soared off the ledge and towards the ocean. With a rapid circular motion, Keiko raised a tall wave and froze it, catching it with the ice board and spiraling down to the sea surface, freezing the water in their path. By the time the girls slowed to a stop, Keiko had created a miniature, bowl-shaped iceberg. Kazumi let go of her sister and stumbled away, falling on all fours and breathing hard.

Keiko, though also visibly shaken, somehow managed a huge grin. “How was that?” she asked.

Kazumi shot her a look of disbelief. “Are you absolutely crazy?!” She stared at Keiko, amazed as always as to how much mayhem one ten-year-old girl could cause. Then the two sisters burst into simultaneous laughter. “It was pretty fun,” Kazumi admitted. “You know, when I wasn’t thinking about being buried alive.”

“When was that exactly?” Keiko asked jokingly as Kazumi pulled her up. “We’re pretty lucky that Dad is away at the capital.”

No sooner were the words out of Keiko’s mouth than the ice beneath them began to rise back up to the edge of the tundra. Kazumi looked at Keiko, who now had fear etched on her face. The prodigious waterbender from mere moments ago had reverted to a scared little girl, nervously fumbling with one of her twin hair braids.

When the ice platform reached its destination, the girls shuffled forward with hung heads. In a fleeting moment of daring, Kazumi tilted her head up slightly to see who had been expecting them. There was Jukon, with frustration painted all over his face, and a few other watch members. Standing at the head of the group was a large man with olive skin and long, dark hair. Beneath his goatee, his mouth was set in a firm, severe line. His brow was furrowed and his eyes closed, completing the stern look of anger and disapproval. After a period of maddening quiet, Kopak, Kazumi and Keiko’s father, spoke.

“I spend my days at the capital attempting to teach self-control and instill discipline in the next generation of waterbenders,” Kopak said calmly in a tone that caused the back of Kazumi’s neck to burn red. “And what do I find upon returning home?” Kopak opened his eyes and fixed his gaze on Keiko, who shrunk until her chin was pushed into her chest. “My own daughter making a careless mockery of the art.”

“Please, Dad. It’s my fault,” Kazumi said. “I should’ve talked her out of it. I should’ve-”

“Be quiet, Kazumi,” Kopak warned, causing his elder daughter to once again become largely interested in her own feet. He turned back to Keiko. “Go home right now and wait for me.”

Keiko ran off without a word, eager to escape her father’s harsh stare.

“That will be all, Jukon,” Kopak said to the captain. “You and your men should check around for damage and prevent the possibility of another slide.”

“Of course, master,” Jukon said. With that, the watch marched back to the village.

Kazumi continued to study her mukluks as Kopak walked towards her. Then, she felt him pull her into a hug and for a moment, her tension and worry dissipated.

“Are you mad?” Kazumi asked, her voice muffled by her father’s fur-lined coat.

“Yes, but my anger is far outstripped by my relief,” Kopak replied. “I’m just glad that you and your sister are safe.” Kopak released Kazumi but kept his hands on her shoulders. “Keiko may be a waterbending prodigy but you, thank goodness, are not, and engaging in this type of behavior is especially dangerous for you.”

“I know, Dad,” Kazumi said quietly. Looking into her father’s eyes, she almost would’ve rather faced his fury than his unbearable look of disappointment.

“You’re almost sixteen, Kazumi,” Kopak continued. “I expect for you to responsibly look after yourself and to keep your sister in line. Do we have an understanding?”

"Yes," Kazumi responded immediately, grateful to be offered an end to the embarrassing lecture. Her father smiled as his hands dropped to his sides.

"I'm glad to hear it," Kopak said. "But let's see if you can't honor my request a little longer this time." His daughter gave a timid laugh as he turned towards home. "Come. I'm sure your sister has made it back home by now and is eagerly awaiting her scolding."


End file.
